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Monday, August 29, 2011

The Thirteenth Tale by Dianne Setterfield is a wonderful gothic mystery with interesting characters and descriptive writing. When Margaret Lea is called to the home of reclusive author Vida Winter to write her biography, she has little idea of what to expect. She has never read one of the author's books and only knows that she has given a different account of her life's story to each reporter she has spoken to throughout the years. How will Margaret know if Vida Winter is actually telling her true story this time?

The writing in The Thirteenth Tale captured me from the beginning. The initial setting of a bookshop specializing in old manuscripts and a strange letter for the narrator set the scene for a journey into the past. While the setting soon changes to Vida Winter's residence, much of the story takes place in the library surrounded by classic books as well as those written by the author in the story. Overall this is the perfect book for lovers of mysteries and books. Vida Winter's story is intense and well paced. At times I hated to have this story interrupted with Margaret Lea's observations and her back story. While there were times that Margaret's journeys did add to Vida's story, it felt like they pulled me out of the most interesting parts of the story. The mystery is a complex one but resolved to the reader's satisfaction at the end. While there were a few parts of the story that were confusing and some questions that I didn't find answers to, I fully admit that I function in a state of exhaustion most of the time these days and it is very possible that I missed subtle clues that were given along the way.

Note: All opinions provided on this blog are my own. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Bookstore links are generally affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

Friday, August 19, 2011

I really like that these Chocolate Almond Pure Natural Bars are vegan and gluten free. They have a good chocolate flavor and seven grams of protein. The main ingredients are dates and almonds and everything on the label is easy to recognize. No strange unpronounceable chemical names here!

I'm currently pregnant and need to take snacks with me to keep my blood sugar steady and these work great for throwing in my purse. They wouldn't hold up well in the car right now though with the heat we've been having. The box that I received was a bit banged up and it was clear that some of the bars had melted a bit in transit.

The only negative for me is the texture wasn't quite what I was expecting. I thought the bars would have a candy bar type texture or maybe even a granola bar type texture but these are a bit more like a brownie bar. I'm not crazy about the texture but overall these are a good snack to have on hand.

Note: All opinions provided on this blog are my own. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Bookstore links are generally affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Eating Clean for Dummies is what one would expect from the 'for Dummies' series. The book is cleanly laid out with great use of white space, text boxes, bullet points, and font changes. Symbols along the sides of the page highlight information that is extra important. It is not necessary to read the entire book from beginning to end because there is enough repetition of information that you can simply start with whichever section you are the most interested in.

Eating Clean for Dummies systematically approaches why and how to change your diet to include more fresh foods and fewer processed ones. Scientific explanations are used often but simplified so they are not overwhelming. The book addresses the best foods to eat to prevent certain illnesses and the best foods to eat if you have already been diagnosed. Organic fruits, vegetables, and meats are addressed but the authors do not feel that you have to switch to an entirely organic diet to eat cleanly. They do give a list of the foods that are best purchased organic because they are the most affected by chemicals while also giving a list of the foods that you don't need to be as concerned about.

One thing that I found very interesting is that throughout most of the book the authors seemed to be advocating a very balanced diet including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meats, and dairy but in a few sections they referenced the health benefits of the Paleo diet which excludes grains, diary, and legumes. While I realize that some variations on diets do benefit different people in different ways (a point the authors do make), I wonder if they believe the Paleo diet is actually a better eating plan but were not willing to say that clearly because there would be so much resistance from people?

The book does include recipes in the last section. While many of them sound good, I haven't actually gotten around to trying them yet.

Overall the basic message is that the closer the food source is to its natural state, the better our bodies can make use of it. The authors do acknowledge the difficulty in transitioning from processed foods (which can be addictive) to a cleaner diet and offer suggestions to ease that transition. They also realize that most of us cannot eat 100% cleanly all the time so give goals such as starting with a 50/50 split and working toward making more clean meals and snacks each week.

I received a copy of Eating Clean For Dummies from the Amazon Vine program for the purposes of providing them my honest review.

Note: All opinions provided on this blog are my own. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Bookstore links are generally affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

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The Opinion Outpost link in this post is a referral link and I will earn a small amount of money for each person who joins and successfully completes their first survey.

Note: All opinions provided on this blog are my own. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Bookstore links are generally affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.